Seasonal One-Shot Series
by peekapika83
Summary: Originally written as a kind of series of one-shots, each chapter takes place around a different holiday theme.
1. Chapter 1

All Hallows Eve

(A short word of background: The tradition of "Halloween" began spreading when the ancient Celtic festival of "Samhain" was Romanized after their colonization, being deemed "All Hallows Eve" originally. The Celts believed that on that day, the spirits of the dead and other beings could come into our world because the border between the two was at it's thinnest. This is where the tradition of costumes began; people would 'disguise' themselves, usually as if they were evil spirits themselves, in order to keep the beings from attacking them.)

"Have you even _seen_ a zombie Goten?" Trunks asked him condescendingly.

"No, but they're real Trunks, they are!" Goten said forcefully.

"Well, I've never fought one, so they can't be that strong..." Trunks countered.

"But Grandpa said that they're 'undead', and very scary, so that must mean that they're strong. What does 'undead' mean Trunks?" Goten asked.

"It means they've come back from Otherworld, obviously. They were dead, but now they're not, that's the 'un' part."

"Like my Dad?!"

"I guess... hey, maybe they really are strong then!" Trunks' face lit up, "What else did your Gramps say about them?"

"Well, he said they like to eat brains and body parts and stuff, and that on Halloween, the border between our world and the next is really thin, so that's how they get through to us here."

"Hmm," Trunks mused, "I guess we could wish for some zombies then – but how many would we need? We don't exactly know how strong they'll be, but it needs to be a good fight..."

"Yeah, if it's over too quick that's like wasting the wish" Goten agreed as he rolled a dragonball back and forth on the ground between his legs.

"Hey, I know! We can just wish for the border to be really, extra thin for that day, that way we can fight as many as we want and then they'll be gone afterward!" Trunks exclaimed.

"That's awesome Trunks! You're a genius!" Goten whooped and jumped up off the ground, "Let's hurry up and do it now, I have to be home for dinner in half an hour."

"Eternal Dragon, I summon thee!" Trunks called out, and the dragonballs began glowing at their feet. The already cloudy sky turned a darker shade of gray, then black as night when the Eternal Dragon made his appearance.

"WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME?" he bellowed from the sky.

"Oh, Shenron, we wish for the border between our world and the next to be really, really thin tomorrow, then go back to normal after that!" Trunks commanded.

"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED"

"Thanks Shenron, that's all for now, we'll save the other wish for later!" Goten shouted up to him.

The next morning, Trunks woke to the smell of smoke, and there was a giant hole in his room where the exterior wall used to be. Through it, he could see columns of smoke rising from various parts of the city, and many of the buildings looked like they had been blasted and half demolished.

Shit.

Trunks flew out of bed, and ran downstairs, knowing he was in over his head – when he was stopped by a gasp from his mother. Only, she wasn't his mother, not really – her hair was too long, and she was wearing some sort of coveralls with a backwards baseball cap; his mom would never be caught dead wearing anything like that.

"Trunks?" she said to him, confused.

He frowned.

"Who are you?" he said accusingly, taking a step back from her.

"Who am I? What has gotten into you? And what happened to you Trunks?"

"Hey, what now? Nothing's wrong with me..." a slightly older looking version of Trunks walked into the room as well. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at himself.

Trunks swore.

"Do not use that kind of language young man!" his imposter mom scolded him automatically, then paled, moving her gaze back and forth between the two boys. It was at just this moment that Vegeta came in from his early morning GR session, mad as hell.

"What the fuck happened to the house?" he shouted as soon as he opened the door.

Future Bulma screamed.

Future Trunks quickly moved in between her and this strange man, taking a fighting stance. Before Vegeta had a chance to react, they flickered, and then disappeared. Trunks stood there stunned for a moment, then ran back to his room.

"Boy! Get back here! What the hell is going on?" Vegeta yelled after him.

Trunks burst through the door to his room, finding the wall now intact, and no more smoke rising from outside his window. Whew, that was a close one...

Vegeta caught up with him, grabbing his arm.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know..." Trunks stretched the truth.

"Come on boy, we need to find your mother" he said, dragging him out of the room.

Goten was so excited to fight some zombies, he dreamed about them all night. When Gohan woke him the next morning, the first thing out of his sleepy mouth was: "Are there any zombies to fight yet?"

"What?" Gohan laughed at him, "No zombies yet kiddo, most people are just waking up and don't have their costumes on yet."

When they came into the kitchen, Chichi was wielding a frying pan and looked ready to chew nails.

"I don't know who you are, but you get out of my house this instant!" she yelled.

Across the room, a tall man who looked vaguely like their father stared at her in disbelief. He had a scar down the left side of his face, was wearing an orange gi, and had one of his hands flung out protectively behind him. From this angle, Goten couldn't see who it was behind him, but as they moved farther into the room, drawing attention to themselves, he got a better look.

It was his mother. Well, an older, grayer version of his mother, but she was actually wearing the exact same dress that his real mom was now... He looked back and forth between them, wondering what was going on. The older Chichi looked kind of pale, but pissed as well. The man had looked their way when they came in, and now his gaze was locked on Gohan. Goten looked up at his older brother; he was staring back intensely, starting to power up.

"Who are you? What are you doing here in our house?" he demanded of the intruders. When Dad was gone he took his responsibility as man of the house very seriously. The strange man's eyes got wide as Gohan's power rose, but before he could say anything, he and the older Chichi flickered and faded away right before them.

The statue in the middle of the round-about on Main St. exploded in a hail of rock and gravel. Cars swerved and crashed all around it, adding to the bedlam. 17 grinned with satisfaction as the drug store behind it was reduced to rubble as well. He fired another blast into the cell phone outlet beside it. People were getting out of their crashed cars and running for their lives now. 18 began picking them off, one by one, in order of worst to best dressed – laughing at their ridiculous attire and pathetic attempts to live. She was rudely interrupted by a kick to the head.

"What the hell are you doing 18?" Goku said furiously. He didn't kill the android instantly, out of loyalty to Krillin, but it was going to take more than just explaining to make up for all the innocent lives they had just taken.

"You! I thought we killed you a long time ago!" 18 shouted as 17 came to back her up.

"You're going to regr-" 17 began, but their images flickered in and out as he spoke, disappearing completely – though the damage they did was still left behind.

"What do you mean YOU MADE A WISH?!" Bulma yelled at them. He was starting to get used to random versions of themselves from the future walking in and out of their day, almost. Well, not completely random either, it actually seemed that they were progressing in age as the day wore on. It was easiest to tell with the future version of himself; at last appearance we was around 14 or so... Trunks wasn't in that much physical pain from the spanking Chichi gave both of them after his Mom's lecture; it was what Gohan said to them that made him feel really horrible.

"A lot of innocent people died today, because of the immature way you two acted" he spoke solemnly with a shake of his head, "I expected better from you."

Everyone had automatically gathered at Capsule Corp when the strange events had began occurring, and that's when it had come out that the boys had made their wish.

Damn it, they hadn't meant to hurt anyone...

"In six months when we are able to bring them back with the wish that's left, you two are going to personally apologize to each and every person who was killed" Bulma informed them.

"Yes Ma'am" they replied in unison.

The front door was kicked open with a bang, knocking it off it's hinges. A badly wounded Trunks was carrying an unconscious Gohan over his back. Blood dripped in a nearly steady stream from the older man, and the look on Trunks' face was frantic.

"MOM!" he screamed as soon as he got through the door, but stopped short at the sight of such a gathering in his living room. The loss of momentum was too much, and he fell to his knees on the ground, getting crushed by the weight of the man above him.

Gohan couldn't help it, he ran to the boy's side. Even though he knew he would be gone in a matter of seconds, he pulled what he now recognized as himself off of Trunks, and helped him get 'the body' down stairs to Bulma's lab. Thankfully Trunks' singularity of purpose in getting help for Gohan allowed him to function through the shock of the situation. Future Bulma was in her lab, oblivious, when they stumbled in and placed him on the table. As soon as she turned toward them in shock, they all began to fade away with a hesitant flicker. Gohan was left standing there alone, with blood staining his shirt and hands, and a twisting emptiness in his stomach.

Gohan had to leave Capsule Corp later that afternoon. He just couldn't take the emotion in Future Trunks' eyes whenever a version of him appeared and saw Gohan. It was heart wrenching, and even though he felt like he was running away, he had to go. Every version since the one that he had helped had come from a time where Gohan was dead... It would be easier for them this way too. At least that's what he told himself. There were too many unanswered questions in those eyes. Gohan figured if he just stayed in his room for the rest of the day, there was very little likely hood of running into anyone from the future. Heck, he was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster, he might just take a nap and sleep through the rest of it.

It wasn't like there was anything he could do to help anyway. Unless the androids happened to show up right under their noses, his Dad was the only one who could sense the loss of life happening and get there quick enough, with his instant transmission, to do any good. Other wise the androids had just faded away by the time they arrived on the scene. Gohan laid down on his bed and sighed, falling into a listless sleep.

He was woken by the sound of crying. Damn it. It wasn't coming from his Mom/Future Mom though, or even anywhere inside the house... He looked over to this open window, seeing the sun setting. He opened the window all the way, noticing the noise got louder as he approached it. Yes, it was definitely coming from outside. He hopped out of the bedroom window, leaving it open behind him, and headed around to the side of the house, unable to not investigate. Off to the side a little ways, there was a huge tree on the edge of the clearing of the forest. Underneath it were three grave stones, and a huddled form with lavender hair.

Gohan was unable to stop himself from moving toward him. He tried. His legs wouldn't listen to his pleas to stop and turn around. When he got close, Trunks lifted his head, eyes going wide in shock as Gohan dropped to his knees beside him and hugged him tightly.

"W-What?..." Trunks' brain could not process what was happening. Gohan pulled him even closer to him and out of the awkward half-sitting position he had been in.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered in his ear.

"How is this happening?" Trunks replied, hugging him back just as tenderly. After a moment, he leaned back just a little, to look him in the eye.

"Are you real?" he began, only to be silenced by Gohan's finger on his lips.

"Yes, but it won't last" he said as he leaned in for the kiss he had wanted for so long. Their lips brushed together tentatively, then Gohan forced their mouths together harder with a hand on the back of Trunks' neck. A small moan came out of him at the feel of those velvety lips. Trunks opened his mouth to him, letting Gohan's tongue have it's way, as he slowly turned to putty in the man's arms.

When Gohan opened his eyes, the grave stones were gone, and so was Trunks. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he got up and went back inside; purposefully never looking at that spot under the giant tree again.


	2. Chapter 2

Perspective

From this angle, the hairline cracks in his ceiling looked like the outline of a time machine. Sighing, Gohan turned, resting his head on the other end of the bed. Now it looked like Trunks' hair in his Ascended form... This was not helping. Fine, whatever... He didn't want to move again, so he stared at the cracks as if they had personally offended him. It was only mid-afternoon; way too early to just go to bed. If he took a nap right now he would just end up staring at these cracks in the dark later when he couldn't sleep. He sighed again. At least this wasn't as bad as having gone with his Dad and Goten to train would have been. If he had to listen to his Dad's too cheerful voice telling him to focus on his attack pattern right now, his head was going to explode. Goten didn't need to see that.

His stomach growled angrily at him. Mom was out shopping, and he hadn't bothered to get up and make himself lunch a few hours ago. The only thing that sounded even remotely good was ice cream... What the hell, he thought, there was no one here to stop him... He swung his legs off the edge of his bed, and used his ki to float limply along the hallway and stairs, not really wanting to walk. Floating in front of the fridge, which his mother would hate, he grabbed a carton of double fudge brownie ice cream out of the freezer and took it back up to his room. He ate it listlessly, enjoying the act of rebellion more than the actual food.

Gohan heard the front door open, and his mom coming in with the groceries. Normally he would have gone down and helped her unload and put them away, but she probably didn't realize he was even home right now, and he didn't feel like getting up.

Running through her mental food inventory as she put everything away, Chichi immediately noticed a carton of ice cream was missing from the freezer. Sighing and looking in the direction of where her eldest son's room was, she closed the freezer and decided to put away the rest of the cold items before addressing that.

There was a knock on Gohan's door. Damn, she must have noticed the ice cream missing, Gohan realized. Mom kept track of food like it was the time of day... She kind of had to with three Saiyan's in the house, so he couldn't really blame her, but he found himself wanting to for some reason. He made no effort to conceal the half eaten carton.

"What do you want?" he said, not inviting her to enter, but knowing she would anyway. His mom's knocks operated on more of a cursory, 'holler if you're naked, because I'm coming in now' type of system. Chichi opened the door, seeing Gohan sprawled out on the bed, with the missing ice cream sitting on the floor melting. She walked over and picked it up off the floor, placing the lid back on as she looked at him pointedly.

"I'll eat whatever I want to – I'm 18 already anyway" he huffed, looking at the wall with his arms crossed, not meeting her eyes.

"Yes, Gohan, I know exactly how old you are" she said softly as she reached down to take one of his hands into hers. After a moment, he looked up at her, wondering why she just sat there without scolding him...

"Do you want to talk about it?" she said as his eyes finally met hers.

"Talk about what?" he said, confused yet defensive. Chichi squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile.

"I may have married your father young, but I did do my fair share of pining away for him before that, I remember what it looks like honey" she informed him. Gohan pulled his hand away in surprise.

"What? What are you talking about? I'm fine" he said, rolling over to his stomach on the other side of the bed, blushing furiously. He turned his head to look out the window, hoping she would get the point, but strangely hoping that they would get into a yelling match right now after all. At least it would take his mind off of other things if he could get mad at her. Unfortunately, she didn't rise to the bait. Standing with a sigh, she told him he could always come to her with anything as she turned to leave. Since when was she so understanding? Just a handful of weeks ago, over the summer, she had practically blown his and Goten's ear drums out when they had a popsicle too close to dinner time... Whatever. He rolled his eyes as the door closed behind her.

Laying there watching a fly buzz around his room, Gohan's eyes began to droop. The memories began to bubble back to the surface as his subconscious took over. Blue eyes drilled into his, full of pain and shock before vanishing into oblivion. He reached out, trying to grasp onto him too late, only to find his hand covered in blood. He would look down now, seeing blood everywhere... Yes, that was how it went... It was almost worse for being a lucid dream, because he seemed to see everything in double, watching himself in the nightmare. Grave markers swam into his vision, and his heart rate sky rocketed. A huddled form cried against the middle marker. Suddenly Gohan was wrapped in a warm embrace, his lips tingling with the pleasure of another's pressed to his; only to have it ripped away as Trunks climbed back into his time machine... So many different versions of the past swam in his head that he seriously felt like giving up on keeping them all straight when awake; in sleep it was impossible. He awoke with a shout as Trunks was shot through the heart by Cell in his nightmare. After rubbing his abused brain for a moment, he got up, seeing that it was evening now, and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face.

He barely even noticed Goten trying to talk to him in the hallway, brushing by him absently with a "not now kid" and a wave of his hand, too lost in thought to see the worried hurt in his brother's eyes. Gohan stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes after drying his face. The dark circles under his eyes were growing and he looked kind of pale, but that was probably from having just woke up from those dreams again. He wondered how long this could go on before he went mad... And then a thought seemed to hit him out of the blue. Was this how Trunks felt too, having lost him? How had he dealt with it, how strong must he have been to keep going with all this bottled inside him? Stronger than I am, that's for sure, Gohan thought bitterly.

Something was very wrong with Gohan, but Goten had no idea what it was. A few weeks ago he started making excuses not to train when he and dad would go out, and now he just outright refused to come along. He was starting to be afraid Gohan was really mad at him... It had hit him pretty hard, the antics he and Trunks' had pulled last month. He had apologized at the time just like Trunks had, but Trunks' family wasn't treating Trunks the same way Gohan was treating Goten...

A few days later, having woken from another nightmare of Trunks being ripped from his arms, Gohan felt the floodgates beginning to break. It was bad enough that he couldn't stop himself from shouting out in his sleep, but he refused to cry with everyone else listening to him. Well, his mother couldn't hear through walls, but he wasn't in a mood to quibble. Throwing open his window, he flew outside and landed on the lawn, tears already streaming down his face. He had no where to go, and his feet automatically began pulling him toward the forest. It was like a sirens' call, that particular tree where everything hurt the worst.

Falling forward, Gohan finally let himself cry in earnest, hugging his knees and curling into a ball on the ground when he reached the site where his grave would have been. It would have been better if he had just died too, he thought, not realizing that he was speaking out loud.

Goten was just as confused as before, hearing Gohan mumble something about wanting to die with out Trunks... That didn't make any sense... Wanting to die was not ok... Goten listened quietly from his own window as the sobs died down. He grabbed his blanket from his bed, and silently flew outside as well. Gohan was asleep under the huge tree at the edge of the forest. Goten spread his blanket out over him, snuggling up to him in the cold night. He was afraid for his brother after what he'd just heard, and was determined to not let anything happen to him, or let him do anything to himself.

The next morning Gohan woke incredibly stiff. Between the hard ground and the cold air, it was probably one of the worst night's sleep he'd ever gotten... Well, discounting his now normal dreams anyway. He was shocked to find himself covered in a blanket, with Goten snuggled into his chest, sleeping soundly on the ground next to him.

"Goten," he shook him gently, "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, morning Gohan... I was worried about you..." he said with a yawn, then gripping his big brother tight, he asked him sadly, "Are you mad at me, Gohan, for the wish me and Trunk's made? I really am sorry..." he said, crying a bit.

"I'm not mad at you, Goten," he sighed, holding him close, "Why would you think that?"

"Because you've been really sad, and not wanting to be around me ever since then" Goten explained. Well, crap. Gohan sighed, he hadn't realized he had been pushing Goten away in his depression, but now that he pointed it out, he could see that he certainly had.

"I'm sorry, buddy – I didn't mean to do that... I've just been really sad lately, like you said, and haven't been treating you right... Do you think you can forgive me chibi?" Gohan asked.

"Of course... But, Gohan, do you really want to die?" he asked with eyes round as saucers. Gohan was sickened that Goten had heard that much, mentally chiding himself for being so weak.

"No, not really Goten" he said to him, "I was just super emotional last night because I had a bad dream, I'm ok now, I promise" he said, ruffling his little brother's hair and plastering a smile across his face.

"Knowing I have such a great little brother helps a lot; thanks for being here for me, and for the blanket too, bro" he said, trying to lighten the mood. Goten seemed to accept his, and they both headed inside – hopefully before their mother would notice them gone from their beds.

The next day a storm system had rolled in, drenching the surrounding area with thick sheets of rain. His dad and Goten would train in any weather, of course, not having to worry about silly things like catching cold or getting struck by lightening. Gohan sat in his room, trying to read, but the rain kept distracting him. He was overcome by the desire to feel those little droplets striking his skin, so he opened the window once again and crawled out in to the deluge. He just stood there for a second, before turning his face up to the sky and closing his eyes. He felt more at peace than he had in weeks as the water gently collided with his upturned face. He began to walk forward, still with his eyes closed, feeling the current of raindrops whirl around him as he did.

That was were Bulma found him, standing in the rain in the middle of the field next to his house. She landed the Capsule plane expertly, jumping out into the weather without an umbrella or even hat; a little rain had never hurt anyone. She stood next to him, face turned toward the sky, not saying anything for a good 15 minutes. He finally cracked open an eye, looking at her surreptitiously.

"Hey, kiddo" she said.

"Hey, Bulma, what are you doing out here?" he said, referring to being in the rain, and to being in their area.

"I was wondering if you remember when your 'uncle' Radditz kidnapped you?" she asked.

"What?" Why in the world would she fly all the way out here to ask him about that, he thought... "I guess so... I was pretty young, and spent most of the time either unconscious or locked in that space pod... Why do you ask?" he said curiously.

"I always wondered how much of that you could actually recall, it was probably the first traumatic experience you ever had."

"Uh, yeah... I guess it was..." he said.

"Although I'm sure it wasn't the worst one... God, remember Namek? And that was only like a year after that..." Suddenly Bulma burst out laughing, "And after all that, even when Frieza came to Earth hunting us down, I still never got to see him, they were too far away for my 'human' eyes to make him out."

Gohan snorted a half-laugh, "You didn't miss much" he said, "Frankly I could never make up my mind if 'he' was really supposed to be a boy or a girl."

"That's what your dad said too" Bulma giggled, "Vegeta won't talk about it of course, like it's beneath him now, but what else is new, right?" That won her a begrudging smile from Gohan.

"Oh! Oh, my gosh Gohan, remember when Vegeta was all like 'I'm going to take on Android 18, all by myself' and then got his _ass_ handed to him? Remember how we used to make popcorn and watch the whole fight from 16's memory log that I had uploaded? – that was priceless, absolutely gold" she laughed a good deep laugh over that one. Gohan joined her laughter too, remembering. He would murder them both in their sleep if he ever found out, but it was still hilarious.

"It feels a little weird to be laughing now about all this stuff, I mean, it was so horrifying at the time" Gohan said, still chuckling.

"I know what you mean," she said a little more seriously, "I think it's mostly to do with the fact that we did come through it alright after all, and that time has had a chance pass..." she squeezed his shoulder as she said the last part. Gohan looked down, away from her, realizing what she was doing.

"I know I, for one, am not ready to joke about Buu yet... But even that, someday, will just be another story to those of us left remembering" Bulma continued. Gohan didn't say anything for a long moment, letting the rain fill the silence.

"I know what it's like to lose people... It's not that..." he started, hesitantly, "When dad died..." he stopped. Bulma didn't rush him.

"It was different..." he said, looking up to the sky again, "I... I didn't hold him in my arms, powerless while he faded away, trying to hold onto me too." Tears mixed with rain drops on Gohan's face.

"Oh, honey..." Bulma said, pulling him into a hug. He cried against her in the rain as she stroked his back, rocking him patiently til the tears stopped. When she could feel his sobs had ceased, she spoke to him softly.

"Sometimes, loving a prince is rough – their destinies are often so much more complex than ours" she whispered to him, "Just taking it one day at a time can help... I would know" she said firmly. He nodded his head in agreement, still buried against her shoulder.

"Thanks Bulma" he sniffled, pulling away, "you don't happen to have any advise on nightmares, do you?"

"I think you might be in a position to handle them better if you weren't pushing everyone away..." she suggested.

"I guess..."

"Hey, there's a lot of people who love you very much, who are still around, kiddo, – I know what your missing isn't the same as training with your dad, for instance, but I remember a time not too long ago when you would have given anything to be able to train with him again..." she prompted him. Gohan sighed, she was right... And Goten... Damn, he felt ashamed of what had happened there too...

"How did you know I needed this talking to?" he asked her, searching the sky again.

"Your mom called me... She was hoping you would see me as less of a threat, I think – and Goten said something too, when he was over yesterday" she chided him softly, "He got mad at Trunks for hurting you somehow – I take it he heard more than he was supposed to..." she said as Gohan blushed furiously.

"God, I'm sorry Bulma, yes, that's pretty much what happened – I promise I won't let it happen again" he confessed, really hoping to never have to elaborate on what Goten had heard...

"It's ok, don't beat yourself up over it too hard kiddo, Goten will be ok as long as you really do snap out of it" she said.

"I hope so" he replied, "I've got to try to think of a way to make it up to him."

"He'd probably just be happy to spend time with you again" she suggested, glad to see that he looked like he would be ok.

"Yeah, at the least... You know, I think I'm going to head over to where they're training right now... Thanks Bulma!" he yelled back as he took off into the sky. She waved, watching him go, then gave a thumbs up to the house where she knew Chichi was watching from the window. Climbing back into her plane, she turned the heat on full-blast and headed home; she had never been one to just let things lay.

Gohan flew toward where he felt his dad and Goten's ki coming from, hoping he wasn't too late to join in. As he got closer, he felt a third ki with them as well. Waving as he approached the battle field, he called out to them,

"Hey guys, is it too late for me to jump in?"

Goten abandoned his spar immediately and flew, literally, into Gohan's arms.

"Gohan! I'm so glad you came after all big brother!"

His dad just smiled and nodded, welcoming him to the fight.

"Good to have you back, kid" Piccolo said as he looked at him with one of those stares that said he knew more than he was letting on. Gohan blushed a little, feeling kind of foolish for having avoided everyone for so long.

"Thanks you guys, let's get to it then, huh?" he powered up to match the other Super Saiyan's around him and threw Goten, who giggled madly, at his dad as if he were a ki blast; then followed it with a real one. Goten swatted the blast away, letting it crash harmlessly to the barren rock below them, never so glad before to be attacked by his brother.


	3. Chapter 3

The Perfect Present

"Bulma, it's Christmas Eve, can't this wait a few days?" Goku said good-naturedly, but to those who'd known him all his life the whine in his voice was evident.  
"No, and in fact, since you didn't return my calls last week we may not have enough time as it is, now move it mister!" Bulma ordered. Grumbling, Goku set down his saki and got up to follow her out of the room. Bulma's sudden appearance and outburst was not enough to put a damper on the little get together as Goten pretended to wrestle Grandpa Ox King on the floor, but it did draw the attention of Chichi as she came in with a tray of refreshments.  
"And just where do you think you're going?" she frowned at him.  
"Oh, well, Bulma said she needed a favor, Chichi..." he explained.  
"What! You haven't taken care of that yet?" she hissed under her breath, "I told you she called over a week ago!"  
"Heh, I guess I kinda forgot to call her back..." Goku said, rubbing the back of his neck. Chichi looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel.  
"It's ok, we're going to take care of it right now, aren't we Goku?" Bulma prompted him.  
"Yeah, right away, don't worry Chichi, I'll take care of everything!" he said pushing Bulma out of the hallway ahead of him to escape his enraged wife. Amazingly, Chichi let him go with only a glare. Bulma grabbed her coat and lead him outside; it wasn't currently snowing, but the drifts were deep on the slopes of Mt. Paoz.  
"Ok, so what was it you needed, Bulma?"  
"I need you to take me to Namek."  
"Uh, come again?" Goku asked, confused.  
"Namek, Goku, you do remember Namek don't you? You let Frieza blow it up and we had to wish for a new one? Ring any bells?" she said sarcastically.  
"I remember Namek, Bulma" Goku said defensively, "What I meant was why do you want to go there right now?"  
"Let's just say I have a couple questions that need answering," Bulma replied, "questions that only the dragon balls can answer."  
"But why don't you just gather the ones here? Why do I have to leave the party?" Goku pouted.  
"We can't use the ones here because it hasn't been six months since the boys made that horrendous wish. Besides, we're saving that one for reviving the people affected by their poor judgment" Bulma lectured him, "And you're having to leave the party because you're a forgetful jerk who doesn't keep in touch with his friends, that's why. I should be putting the finishing touches on the celebration for tomorrow myself, but no, I have to fly all the way out here to the wilderness instead..."  
"Bulma?" Goku interrupted her rant.  
"What?" she said.  
"Can we go to Namek now?"  
Be Calm. Deep breathes, Bulma told herself.  
"Yes, hurry up already " she snapped. Maybe living with Vegeta all this time was finally starting to rub off on her... Goku put a hand on her forehead, his giant palm covering a good portion of her head, and then raised two fingers to his temple. In an instant the piles of snow around them were replaced by blue, lush grass, and several shocked gasps sounded around them.  
"Goku!" several of the voices exclaimed. Most Namekians recognized him on sight now, since he had come for Dende all those years ago.  
"Hey everyone!" he said with glee.  
"We're on a serious mission, one that's time sensitive as well, please, I need to see Elder Mori as soon as possible" Bulma informed the Namekian closest to her. With a wide eyed nod they were taken to him immediately.

"The dragon balls? I'm sure you're intentions are good, but I do have to ask, what kind of threat are you up against that the power of Shenron would not be enough?" Mori looked startled. Bulma explained what the boys had done, and the need to save their remaining wish to make right the wasted one.  
"So you see, there isn't time to wait for Shenron, though I'm sure he'd have the power to get it done" Bulma finished.  
"Hmm... Normally, we would frown upon the use of the dragon balls in such a manner, being that the ones on your planet were so recently used so irresponsibly... But, those boys were integral in the fight against Buu, so I suppose it can be overlooked just this once" Mori cautioned her.  
"Thanks!" Bulma winked, "Besides, the wish isn't actually for me or the boys, it's for Gohan."  
"For Son Gohan? Well, why didn't you say it was for him in the first place?" Mori asked, "I've never met such a brave and kindhearted young fellow before; if you need a wish for Gohan, then by all means, go ahead."  
"Well, we might technically need all three of them, depending on how it goes..." Bulma let slip.  
"Why didn't you tell me this was something for Gohan?" Goku asked, slightly hurt.  
"Because I didn't want his crazy alien hearing to pick up on it while we were still there; and also, honestly, you can't keep a secret for crap, Goku" Bulma said, frowning at him.  
"Oh, yeah, I guess that's right, huh?" Goku laughed. Bulma rolled her eyes.  
"You have to swear not to say anything about this, Goku, it's only one day so even you should be able to that, right? Now, go run and gather up the dragon balls" she said, handing him the radar.  
"Oh, come on, Bulma, I can keep quiet for one day... Besides, I don't even know exactly what we're doing anyway!" he said as he took to the air after the first ball. Bulma sighed and accepted the tea offered her by Mori.

Goku bounced from one foot to the other in anticipation as Bulma called the dragon. He loved surprises. Her first wish certainly was one though, it left him scratching his head.  
"Pssst. Hey, Bulma" he whispered as Porunga agreed to grant the wish.  
"What?"  
"Why would you want to bring the other Trunks, the one from the future, here? And why for only 24 hours?" he asked quietly.  
"Ok, first off, why are you whispering? And secondly, are you serious? Have you not seen your son moping around and pining after him these past few months?" Bulma replied.  
"Well gee, now that you mention it, I guess he has been pretty down lately... You think it has to do with future Trunks?" Goku said. Bulma whacked him upside the head just as a tall, lavender haired man popped into existence beside them. Having been whisked from his familiar surroundings, future Trunks flashed super Saiyan immediately and was already in a fighting stance when he realized who it was standing in front of him.  
"Mom? Goku? What time is this?" he asked, letting his blonde hair fade.  
"Hey, Trunks!" Goku said, rubbing the back of his head, "Why would Gohan be pining for you?"  
"Wh-what?" Trunks stuttered.  
"Oh my god, Goku, go fly around the planet a few times or something, would you?" Bulma said in exasperation. Thank god she had already been with Yamcha when that boy came of age, she thought. If she had married him instead of Chichi, she would have throttled him in his sleep by now. She and Vegeta may fight a lot, but at least he knew what was going on around him...  
"Trunks, sweetie, it's so good to see you again" she said, giving him a hug.  
"It's good to see you again too" he said squeezing her tightly.  
"Well, since Goku spilled the beans, I guess I'll just get right to the reason I brought you here. A few months ago, the younger version of yourself, and Goten, Gohan's little brother, made a poorly worded wish that made the barriers between our two 'worlds', or time lines, unstable-"  
"Oh god, is that what happened?" Trunks interrupted her, reeling in shock, "So wait, all of the stuff that's been happening every Halloween, that's been real?"  
"Um, yes" Bulma informed him cautiously. To her surprise, instead of the look of horror continuing to grow on his face, he dropped his gaze and blushed profusely. Interesting.  
"And it's been ever since then that Gohan's problem's began... You know, I figured it was more of a 'what if' kind of thing, but now I'm starting to wonder if something didn't actually happened" Bulma teased.  
"I don't know what you mean" Trunks said, his blush deepening.  
"Oh, but I think you do, Trunks..." Bulma shook her head, indicating he couldn't hide it from her, "That blush does make what I'm about to ask you a lot less awkward though."  
"Less awkward?" Trunks said raising an eyebrow, finally meeting her gaze.  
"Assuming you've taken care of all the baddies in your time, since you are indeed standing here right now, would you be willing to come and live here in our time if you had a chance at being with Gohan?" Bulma asked him seriously. Trunks just blinked at her, not having expected that. At all. His gaze drifted from her to the surrounding countryside as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening.  
"It's ok, take your time... Well, not too much time, to think about it – but just know, we have two more wishes left so you would have a chance to go back and say any goodbyes if you chose" Bulma took his hand and squeezed it, "I don't know what's been going on with your end of things, but I think knowing how the other person feels can make all the difference when deciding what's real and what's crazy."  
Trunks squeezed her hand back, "He's really been pining for me? Are you sure?"  
"Completely. We actually had kind of a heart to heart over the difficulties of loving a Saiyan Prince" she chuckled softly.  
"Ok, I think I'll stay then. I mean, I do want to go say good bye, explain things back home, but I could never pass up a chance to actually be with Gohan" Trunks said, his eyes misting up as he thought about it.  
"I'm glad to hear it, here, let me ask Porunga something real quick" Bulma hugged him again and then turned to the dragon, asking if her next rather complex request was possible. She was afraid it might have to be broken down into two wishes, which would risk spoiling the surprise for Gohan, but you never knew until you asked.  
"Yes, that wish can be granted" Porunga boomed.  
"Thanks, I make that my second wish then" Bulma was really excited now, all her plans were coming together. Trunks looked like he was about to say something to her, but he winked out of existence before he could speak. Oops. Oh, well, he could tell her in a second. True to it's word, the dragon made Trunks reappear a moment later, though he had spent an entire week in his own time. The Trunks that reappeared though, looked completely different from the one who had left. Faded jeans and a t-shirt were replaced with slacks and a button-down, semi casual shirt. He wore nice looking loafers and his hair was tied back by a small band of leather.  
"Hey" he said, smiling and tucking a stray bang behind his ear. Bulma noticed how he fidgeted with his nicer clothes and thought it was adorable how hard he was trying. She had definitely made the right decision.  
"You are so cute, honey" she beamed.  
"Thanks mom" he said almost painfully, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing again.  
"Oh, by the way, it's Christmas Eve here in our time, but don't worry, you don't have to get him anything, you are the present" she winked.  
"Oh my god. Mom, what are you saying?" Trunks was horrified and pleased at the same time.  
"I'm saying that we won't be going to see him right away, we'll hide you for a bit and then bring you out tomorrow afternoon for the Christmas party at Capsule Corp. You might want to wear something a little more dressy for that event, but don't worry, I've taken care of all of that... But that does remind me about the third wish, though... You go get Goku so we're ready to go home once it's done" she directed, turning back to the dragon as Trunks flew off obediently, his mind reeling once again. "Porunga, for my third and final wish, I wish for you to mask this Trunks' ki, so no one can sense him until Gohan meets him tomorrow afternoon."  
"Very well, your wish has been granted" Porunga said, then disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Once Goku and Trunks returned, Bulma swore Goku to secrecy once again, and then had him take her and Trunks back to CC before heading home himself. They had only been gone for a little over an hour all together. Excellent, she would still have time to wrap up a few last minute things.  
"Here, you can use this guest bedroom until we have a chance to get you settled in, I'll start working on an identity for you and everything after the holidays, if that's ok" she asked him.  
"Uh, yeah, that's fine... I guess I can be your Trunks' older brother or something" he mused, looking around the room.  
"Excuse me, I am nowhere near old enough to have a son who's, who's... How old are you anyway?" she questioned him with a frown.  
"Uh, 25?... Sorry..." he said hesitantly.  
"Right. Anyway, we'll make you into some long lost cousin or something, don't worry about it" she said with a wave of her hand.

Later that night, after being brought up to speed on everything that had happened since his last visit here, Trunks tossed and turned in bed, his nerves getting the best of him. There was still a bit of an age difference between them, but it wasn't as big a deal now that Gohan was 18... There was also that little issue of reality rarely happening the way your fantasies had played out. And tomorrow was Christmas; if this went badly, he was pretty sure the holidays would be ruined for both of them for the rest of their lives. Ok, maybe he was being a bit over dramatic. He sighed into his pillow. It wasn't until long after midnight that sleep finally overtook him.

Gohan was excited for the CC party. Bulma, being a gazillionaire, came up with some pretty extravagant presents sometimes. Not that he cared how much money was spent on him, it was just fun to watch everyone open them and have a good time together. He couldn't help but sigh a little as he looked at himself in the mirror. It didn't really matter if he looked good or not, nobody he cared about seeing him looking good would be there... But his mother insisted of course. This suit was new too, he'd grown at least 3 inches in the last year and the old one had been on the snug side even before that. Straightening his tie, and satisfied that he would pass his mother's inspection, he went to help Goten with his outfit.

When Trunks felt Gohan's ki suddenly appear in the main room down stairs, he figured Goku had finally instant transmissioned his family to the party. Trunks' heart rate doubled, just at that knowledge. God, he still hadn't thought of anything to say, and he felt like a fool in this suit Bulma had given him. He'd never worn anything so fancy in his entire life. He took a deep breath and checked the clock again, for the 300th time. His mom had promised to keep everything moving along, and that they would open presents on the hour, so he would know when to make his appearance. What if Gohan wasn't excited to see him? He would die right there, that's what... Damn it, he felt like a 14 year old kid going through his first crush again... Hmm, come to think of it, that was a fairly apt analogy... He smiled to himself thinking about it, trying to calm his nerves.

Gohan was fairly certain something was up when Bulma made such a fuss about starting on the presents – normally they all visited for a while first, but she insisted they get to them quickly this year. Something about having time to enjoy them afterward... It didn't really make any difference, he supposed. He was admiring the robotic something-or-other that Goten had received when Bulma pulled him aside and said that the next gift was for him.  
"It's actually a joint present, from me and your parents" she informed him with a wink. He nodded his head, that was odd, his mom and dad had already given him a present this morning...  
A hush fell over the room as Trunks entered it. Gohan's back was turned to him and he was talking to Bulma, agreeing with her about something. He looked just the same as the last time they had seen each other, that Halloween, only he was wearing a nice suit just as Trunks was. More than nice. My god, it made his ass look amazing. Quickly Trunks remembered that all eyes were literally on him, and that it probably wouldn't do to be caught staring. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and put a hand on Gohan's shoulder.  
"Merry Christmas" he said softly. Gohan turned to face him, the look on his face instantaneously going from confused to astonished.  
"Trunks?" he said, mouth agape, every fiber of his being tingling as the familiar ki was unmasked in front of him. The look of wonder on Gohan's face, coupled with the broad smile on his half parted lips, made Trunks throw all caution to the wind. Leaning down slowly, he captured Gohan's lips with his own, kissing him just as gently as the night he had thought he was a ghost. You could have heard a pin drop. Then he felt Gohan's hand wrap around the back of his neck, and it was as if the whole room burst into applause on cue.  
Startled by the noise, Gohan jumped a bit and broke the kiss, looking wide-eyed towards the rest of the gathering and blushing. He ducked his head down at the cat-calls from a few of the more outgoing members of the group. Trunks chuckled. He was also blushing a bit himself, but this was certainly going well; better than what he had hoped for, and nothing like what he had feared. He brought Gohan's face level to his with a finger under his chin.  
"Hey, aren't you going to wish me Merry Christmas back?" he said jokingly. Gohan looked like he was about to cry, or burst into hysterical laughter, one of the two...  
"Merry Christmas" he said, overjoyed, and it was he who closed the distance between their lips this time. When the kiss was done, Gohan kept him close for a moment, leaning in and pitching his voice so only Trunks would hear it above the turmoil. What he heard next made Trunks wonder just how much Gohan had already grown up in his absence.  
"So do I get to unwrap you now, or later?" Gohan whispered in his ear. Trunks couldn't help but blush, though he wouldn't say he didn't enjoy Gohan's forwardness.  
Chuckling, Gohan said, "I'll take that as a 'later' then."

The Perfect Present

"Bulma, it's Christmas Eve, can't this wait a few days?" Goku said good-naturedly, but to those who'd known him all his life the whine in his voice was evident.  
"No, and in fact, since you didn't return my calls last week we may not have enough time as it is, now move it mister!" Bulma ordered. Grumbling, Goku set down his saki and got up to follow her out of the room. Bulma's sudden appearance and outburst was not enough to put a damper on the little get together as Goten pretended to wrestle Grandpa Ox King on the floor, but it did draw the attention of Chichi as she came in with a tray of refreshments.  
"And just where do you think you're going?" she frowned at him.  
"Oh, well, Bulma said she needed a favor, Chichi..." he explained.  
"What! You haven't taken care of that yet?" she hissed under her breath, "I told you she called over a week ago!"  
"Heh, I guess I kinda forgot to call her back..." Goku said, rubbing the back of his neck. Chichi looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel.  
"It's ok, we're going to take care of it right now, aren't we Goku?" Bulma prompted him.  
"Yeah, right away, don't worry Chichi, I'll take care of everything!" he said pushing Bulma out of the hallway ahead of him to escape his enraged wife. Amazingly, Chichi let him go with only a glare. Bulma grabbed her coat and lead him outside; it wasn't currently snowing, but the drifts were deep on the slopes of Mt. Paoz.  
"Ok, so what was it you needed, Bulma?"  
"I need you to take me to Namek."  
"Uh, come again?" Goku asked, confused.  
"Namek, Goku, you do remember Namek don't you? You let Frieza blow it up and we had to wish for a new one? Ring any bells?" she said sarcastically.  
"I remember Namek, Bulma" Goku said defensively, "What I meant was why do you want to go there right now?"  
"Let's just say I have a couple questions that need answering," Bulma replied, "questions that only the dragon balls can answer."  
"But why don't you just gather the ones here? Why do I have to leave the party?" Goku pouted.  
"We can't use the ones here because it hasn't been six months since the boys made that horrendous wish. Besides, we're saving that one for reviving the people affected by their poor judgment" Bulma lectured him, "And you're having to leave the party because you're a forgetful jerk who doesn't keep in touch with his friends, that's why. I should be putting the finishing touches on the celebration for tomorrow myself, but no, I have to fly all the way out here to the wilderness instead..."  
"Bulma?" Goku interrupted her rant.  
"What?" she said.  
"Can we go to Namek now?"  
Be Calm. Deep breathes, Bulma told herself.  
"Yes, hurry up already " she snapped. Maybe living with Vegeta all this time was finally starting to rub off on her... Goku put a hand on her forehead, his giant palm covering a good portion of her head, and then raised two fingers to his temple. In an instant the piles of snow around them were replaced by blue, lush grass, and several shocked gasps sounded around them.  
"Goku!" several of the voices exclaimed. Most Namekians recognized him on sight now, since he had come for Dende all those years ago.  
"Hey everyone!" he said with glee.  
"We're on a serious mission, one that's time sensitive as well, please, I need to see Elder Mori as soon as possible" Bulma informed the Namekian closest to her. With a wide eyed nod they were taken to him immediately.

"The dragon balls? I'm sure you're intentions are good, but I do have to ask, what kind of threat are you up against that the power of Shenron would not be enough?" Mori looked startled. Bulma explained what the boys had done, and the need to save their remaining wish to make right the wasted one.  
"So you see, there isn't time to wait for Shenron, though I'm sure he'd have the power to get it done" Bulma finished.  
"Hmm... Normally, we would frown upon the use of the dragon balls in such a manner, being that the ones on your planet were so recently used so irresponsibly... But, those boys were integral in the fight against Buu, so I suppose it can be overlooked just this once" Mori cautioned her.  
"Thanks!" Bulma winked, "Besides, the wish isn't actually for me or the boys, it's for Gohan."  
"For Son Gohan? Well, why didn't you say it was for him in the first place?" Mori asked, "I've never met such a brave and kindhearted young fellow before; if you need a wish for Gohan, then by all means, go ahead."  
"Well, we might technically need all three of them, depending on how it goes..." Bulma let slip.  
"Why didn't you tell me this was something for Gohan?" Goku asked, slightly hurt.  
"Because I didn't want his crazy alien hearing to pick up on it while we were still there; and also, honestly, you can't keep a secret for crap, Goku" Bulma said, frowning at him.  
"Oh, yeah, I guess that's right, huh?" Goku laughed. Bulma rolled her eyes.  
"You have to swear not to say anything about this, Goku, it's only one day so even you should be able to that, right? Now, go run and gather up the dragon balls" she said, handing him the radar.  
"Oh, come on, Bulma, I can keep quiet for one day... Besides, I don't even know exactly what we're doing anyway!" he said as he took to the air after the first ball. Bulma sighed and accepted the tea offered her by Mori.

Goku bounced from one foot to the other in anticipation as Bulma called the dragon. He loved surprises. Her first wish certainly was one though, it left him scratching his head.  
"Pssst. Hey, Bulma" he whispered as Porunga agreed to grant the wish.  
"What?"  
"Why would you want to bring the other Trunks, the one from the future, here? And why for only 24 hours?" he asked quietly.  
"Ok, first off, why are you whispering? And secondly, are you serious? Have you not seen your son moping around and pining after him these past few months?" Bulma replied.  
"Well gee, now that you mention it, I guess he has been pretty down lately... You think it has to do with future Trunks?" Goku said. Bulma whacked him upside the head just as a tall, lavender haired man popped into existence beside them. Having been whisked from his familiar surroundings, future Trunks flashed super Saiyan immediately and was already in a fighting stance when he realized who it was standing in front of him.  
"Mom? Goku? What time is this?" he asked, letting his blonde hair fade.  
"Hey, Trunks!" Goku said, rubbing the back of his head, "Why would Gohan be pining for you?"  
"Wh-what?" Trunks stuttered.  
"Oh my god, Goku, go fly around the planet a few times or something, would you?" Bulma said in exasperation. Thank god she had already been with Yamcha when that boy came of age, she thought. If she had married him instead of Chichi, she would have throttled him in his sleep by now. She and Vegeta may fight a lot, but at least he knew what was going on around him...  
"Trunks, sweetie, it's so good to see you again" she said, giving him a hug.  
"It's good to see you again too" he said squeezing her tightly.  
"Well, since Goku spilled the beans, I guess I'll just get right to the reason I brought you here. A few months ago, the younger version of yourself, and Goten, Gohan's little brother, made a poorly worded wish that made the barriers between our two 'worlds', or time lines, unstable-"  
"Oh god, is that what happened?" Trunks interrupted her, reeling in shock, "So wait, all of the stuff that's been happening every Halloween, that's been real?"  
"Um, yes" Bulma informed him cautiously. To her surprise, instead of the look of horror continuing to grow on his face, he dropped his gaze and blushed profusely. Interesting.  
"And it's been ever since then that Gohan's problem's began... You know, I figured it was more of a 'what if' kind of thing, but now I'm starting to wonder if something didn't actually happened" Bulma teased.  
"I don't know what you mean" Trunks said, his blush deepening.  
"Oh, but I think you do, Trunks..." Bulma shook her head, indicating he couldn't hide it from her, "That blush does make what I'm about to ask you a lot less awkward though."  
"Less awkward?" Trunks said raising an eyebrow, finally meeting her gaze.  
"Assuming you've taken care of all the baddies in your time, since you are indeed standing here right now, would you be willing to come and live here in our time if you had a chance at being with Gohan?" Bulma asked him seriously. Trunks just blinked at her, not having expected that. At all. His gaze drifted from her to the surrounding countryside as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening.  
"It's ok, take your time... Well, not too much time, to think about it – but just know, we have two more wishes left so you would have a chance to go back and say any goodbyes if you chose" Bulma took his hand and squeezed it, "I don't know what's been going on with your end of things, but I think knowing how the other person feels can make all the difference when deciding what's real and what's crazy."  
Trunks squeezed her hand back, "He's really been pining for me? Are you sure?"  
"Completely. We actually had kind of a heart to heart over the difficulties of loving a Saiyan Prince" she chuckled softly.  
"Ok, I think I'll stay then. I mean, I do want to go say good bye, explain things back home, but I could never pass up a chance to actually be with Gohan" Trunks said, his eyes misting up as he thought about it.  
"I'm glad to hear it, here, let me ask Porunga something real quick" Bulma hugged him again and then turned to the dragon, asking if her next rather complex request was possible. She was afraid it might have to be broken down into two wishes, which would risk spoiling the surprise for Gohan, but you never knew until you asked.  
"Yes, that wish can be granted" Porunga boomed.  
"Thanks, I make that my second wish then" Bulma was really excited now, all her plans were coming together. Trunks looked like he was about to say something to her, but he winked out of existence before he could speak. Oops. Oh, well, he could tell her in a second. True to it's word, the dragon made Trunks reappear a moment later, though he had spent an entire week in his own time. The Trunks that reappeared though, looked completely different from the one who had left. Faded jeans and a t-shirt were replaced with slacks and a button-down, semi casual shirt. He wore nice looking loafers and his hair was tied back by a small band of leather.  
"Hey" he said, smiling and tucking a stray bang behind his ear. Bulma noticed how he fidgeted with his nicer clothes and thought it was adorable how hard he was trying. She had definitely made the right decision.  
"You are so cute, honey" she beamed.  
"Thanks mom" he said almost painfully, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing again.  
"Oh, by the way, it's Christmas Eve here in our time, but don't worry, you don't have to get him anything, you are the present" she winked.  
"Oh my god. Mom, what are you saying?" Trunks was horrified and pleased at the same time.  
"I'm saying that we won't be going to see him right away, we'll hide you for a bit and then bring you out tomorrow afternoon for the Christmas party at Capsule Corp. You might want to wear something a little more dressy for that event, but don't worry, I've taken care of all of that... But that does remind me about the third wish, though... You go get Goku so we're ready to go home once it's done" she directed, turning back to the dragon as Trunks flew off obediently, his mind reeling once again. "Porunga, for my third and final wish, I wish for you to mask this Trunks' ki, so no one can sense him until Gohan meets him tomorrow afternoon."  
"Very well, your wish has been granted" Porunga said, then disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Once Goku and Trunks returned, Bulma swore Goku to secrecy once again, and then had him take her and Trunks back to CC before heading home himself. They had only been gone for a little over an hour all together. Excellent, she would still have time to wrap up a few last minute things.  
"Here, you can use this guest bedroom until we have a chance to get you settled in, I'll start working on an identity for you and everything after the holidays, if that's ok" she asked him.  
"Uh, yeah, that's fine... I guess I can be your Trunks' older brother or something" he mused, looking around the room.  
"Excuse me, I am nowhere near old enough to have a son who's, who's... How old are you anyway?" she questioned him with a frown.  
"Uh, 25?... Sorry..." he said hesitantly.  
"Right. Anyway, we'll make you into some long lost cousin or something, don't worry about it" she said with a wave of her hand.

Later that night, after being brought up to speed on everything that had happened since his last visit here, Trunks tossed and turned in bed, his nerves getting the best of him. There was still a bit of an age difference between them, but it wasn't as big a deal now that Gohan was 18... There was also that little issue of reality rarely happening the way your fantasies had played out. And tomorrow was Christmas; if this went badly, he was pretty sure the holidays would be ruined for both of them for the rest of their lives. Ok, maybe he was being a bit over dramatic. He sighed into his pillow. It wasn't until long after midnight that sleep finally overtook him.

Gohan was excited for the CC party. Bulma, being a gazillionaire, came up with some pretty extravagant presents sometimes. Not that he cared how much money was spent on him, it was just fun to watch everyone open them and have a good time together. He couldn't help but sigh a little as he looked at himself in the mirror. It didn't really matter if he looked good or not, nobody he cared about seeing him looking good would be there... But his mother insisted of course. This suit was new too, he'd grown at least 3 inches in the last year and the old one had been on the snug side even before that. Straightening his tie, and satisfied that he would pass his mother's inspection, he went to help Goten with his outfit.

When Trunks felt Gohan's ki suddenly appear in the main room down stairs, he figured Goku had finally instant transmissioned his family to the party. Trunks' heart rate doubled, just at that knowledge. God, he still hadn't thought of anything to say, and he felt like a fool in this suit Bulma had given him. He'd never worn anything so fancy in his entire life. He took a deep breath and checked the clock again, for the 300th time. His mom had promised to keep everything moving along, and that they would open presents on the hour, so he would know when to make his appearance. What if Gohan wasn't excited to see him? He would die right there, that's what... Damn it, he felt like a 14 year old kid going through his first crush again... Hmm, come to think of it, that was a fairly apt analogy... He smiled to himself thinking about it, trying to calm his nerves.

Gohan was fairly certain something was up when Bulma made such a fuss about starting on the presents – normally they all visited for a while first, but she insisted they get to them quickly this year. Something about having time to enjoy them afterward... It didn't really make any difference, he supposed. He was admiring the robotic something-or-other that Goten had received when Bulma pulled him aside and said that the next gift was for him.  
"It's actually a joint present, from me and your parents" she informed him with a wink. He nodded his head, that was odd, his mom and dad had already given him a present this morning...  
A hush fell over the room as Trunks entered it. Gohan's back was turned to him and he was talking to Bulma, agreeing with her about something. He looked just the same as the last time they had seen each other, that Halloween, only he was wearing a nice suit just as Trunks was. More than nice. My god, it made his ass look amazing. Quickly Trunks remembered that all eyes were literally on him, and that it probably wouldn't do to be caught staring. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and put a hand on Gohan's shoulder.  
"Merry Christmas" he said softly. Gohan turned to face him, the look on his face instantaneously going from confused to astonished.  
"Trunks?" he said, mouth agape, every fiber of his being tingling as the familiar ki was unmasked in front of him. The look of wonder on Gohan's face, coupled with the broad smile on his half parted lips, made Trunks throw all caution to the wind. Leaning down slowly, he captured Gohan's lips with his own, kissing him just as gently as the night he had thought he was a ghost. You could have heard a pin drop. Then he felt Gohan's hand wrap around the back of his neck, and it was as if the whole room burst into applause on cue.  
Startled by the noise, Gohan jumped a bit and broke the kiss, looking wide-eyed towards the rest of the gathering and blushing. He ducked his head down at the cat-calls from a few of the more outgoing members of the group. Trunks chuckled. He was also blushing a bit himself, but this was certainly going well; better than what he had hoped for, and nothing like what he had feared. He brought Gohan's face level to his with a finger under his chin.  
"Hey, aren't you going to wish me Merry Christmas back?" he said jokingly. Gohan looked like he was about to cry, or burst into hysterical laughter, one of the two...  
"Merry Christmas" he said, overjoyed, and it was he who closed the distance between their lips this time. When the kiss was done, Gohan kept him close for a moment, leaning in and pitching his voice so only Trunks would hear it above the turmoil. What he heard next made Trunks wonder just how much Gohan had already grown up in his absence.  
"So do I get to unwrap you now, or later?" Gohan whispered in his ear. Trunks couldn't help but blush, though he wouldn't say he didn't enjoy Gohan's forwardness.  
Chuckling, Gohan said, "I'll take that as a 'later' then."


	4. Chapter 4

At the Beginning Again

"You know, when you warned me that if I came over today, your mom would put me to work right along with you guys, I didn't really think you meant it" Trunks laughed at his own naivete. He adjusted the grip he had on the giant tree that he was carrying on his back and continued up the hill behind Gohan.

"Mom never jokes about chores, especially when dad takes off to go train without notice" Gohan chuckled, carrying a tree just as large. As they broke through the line of the forest, they could see Goten clearing away the snow from the front of the house. He had started with the backyard a few minutes ago, so they would have somewhere to work on chopping up the firewood. Using a low powered ki ball, he walked slowly across the ground, holding it in front of him to melt the fluffy powder. Seeing them approach, he waved happily at them, accidentally losing control of the ki and letting the ball whiz over their heads up into the sky. Trunks laughed. Gohan's little brother was absolutely adorable. The only person who seemed immune to his charm was Vegeta, but that was to be expected.

He had noticed that Gohan was largely resistant to it as well, having built up a tolerance as big brother. However, it was obvious that his dismissal of those round chibi eyes came from a place of caring, not annoyance. He was already using Goten's little slip up as a teaching lesson. Having set down his tree, he was giving him advice on more proper ki control, and Goten was drinking it in. He furrowed his brow in concentration as he tried out what Gohan had just shown him, and his face broke into a wide grin as Gohan told him he was doing well and ruffled his hair. Trunks decided to leave the two of them at it, not wanting to disturb their little family moment, and went into the back to begin on that firewood.

With his many more years of experience, Trunks made short work of the trees using precise control of his ki. When Gohan came around the corner, he was practically done.

"Hey, need some help?" Gohan asked eying him up and down unnecessarily. Trunks grinned, seeing that responsible, father-figure Gohan was fading away, and horny, teenaged Gohan thought it was ok to come out again now that they were alone.

"No, I'm good – almost done now, but thanks for asking" Trunks said casually. He couldn't believe he had ever been concerned about Gohan really wanting him. As he sliced through the last of the wood, he felt warm hands sliding under his jacket and coming to rest around his waist. He grinned, remembering how Gohan had promised to pick up where they left off in the forest once they got home.

"I'm not sure the backyard really qualifies as 'home', Gohan" Trunks chuckled, "If I remember correctly the point was that it's not so cold _indoors_."

"Well, let's go up to my room then" Gohan whispered in his ear, rubbing his hands firmly along Trunks' abs under his jacket. It was not the first time in the few days he'd been back that Gohan had invited him to his room, but he had yet to accept. There always seemed to be too many people around to let themselves go as far as they wanted, so he figured it was better to just wait for the right moment. Trunks turned under his hands, facing him, and gave him a gentle kiss.

"Maybe something hot to drink, to warm those lips, would be more appropriate" Trunks suggested.

"Kiss me again and I won't need anything to drink" Gohan murmured, his eyes still closed.

"Gross, I can hear you guys you know" Goten said, edging around the side of the house while he was finishing up with the snow.

"And that's why we won't be going to your room" Trunks said, trying to be humorous as he pulled back from him. Gohan sighed and gave the back of Goten's head it's first ever 'why do I have to have a little brother' look. Trunks just laughed again and pulled him along by the arm for that hot drink.

Inside, Chichi was on a cleaning rampage, and her way was best stayed out of.

"He better be back in time for the party, or he'll be sleeping on the couch for a week" she was mumbling to herself as she scrubbed the kitchen floor. Gohan and Mirai hovered above the floor while they made themselves some hot chocolate. Chichi straightened momentarily from her task.

"Be a dear and lift this table up, would you?" she asked. Trunks was closer, so he hoisted it off the floor with ease, letting her clean underneath the heavy oak while Gohan finished with their mugs.

"Thank you, Trunks" Chichi said, moving across the floor, "I'm so glad you're back, you were always such a polite and well-mannered young man, such a good influence. You know, in all honesty, considering who your father is, I would never have let Goten become such good friends with the younger you, if I hadn't known how good you would turn out." Trunks was fairly sure she meant that as a compliment, so he just smiled and nodded without opening his mouth. He didn't trust himself to be able to hold back a sarcastic comment about the truth of his younger self – that he was pretty much trouble with a capital T.

"We finished our chores, is it ok if we just hang out for the rest of the afternoon, mom?" Gohan interjected smoothly.

"Oh, of course dear, you guys can use the living room now, I already finished in there – just don't get any crumbs on my floor" she warned them.

"Cool, thanks mom!" Gohan grinned, with a little too much mischief in his eyes. As soon as their mugs were set down on the coffee table, Gohan turned and straddled Trunks, pinning him to the couch. Almost before he knew it, Trunks was being made out with rather heavily. Not that he minded. He used only a small part of his concentration to keep track of Chichi and Goten's ki, lest they enter the room unannounced. Breathless, Gohan finally broke the kiss some minutes later and rested his head against Trunks' shoulder, their chests rising and falling in unison.

"Goten's heading our way" Trunks whispered to him. Gohan sighed, rolling off him again.

"We just can't get a break, huh?" he said in good humor.

New Years Eve rolled around, with Trunks and Gohan still having not found the privacy they both wanted. And tonight, well, tonight there would only be about a million and a half people at the annual Capsule Corp celebration. Gohan felt like if he didn't get Trunks alone soon, he was going to just throw him over his shoulder and steal a spaceship. It was torture watching those bright blue eyes, that he had dreamed about for so long, lighting up just for him. And not being able to do a thing about it.

Gohan was quite surprised at 10:30, when he felt a hand slip into his from behind, and Trunks slowly pulled him away from the edge of the dessert table.

"Where are we going?" Gohan asked, hoping to maybe weasel a moonlit kiss on the roof out of tonight.

"To my room" Trunks whispered once they got into the hallway away from the main guest area.

"Wait, what?" Gohan asked confused by Trunks' sudden change in modesty. "There's literally, like a thousand people here Trunks, that's a thousand people to 'hear' us."

"No, that's a thousand people to drown out the sound of us" he countered, pulling Gohan to him. He was planning on kissing him, but Gohan curling a fist into the back of his hair stopped him.

"Are you serious? You're not messing around about this?" Gohan growled out from low in his throat.

"I'm sure" Trunks said, turning to mush right there in his hands. Gohan nodded and released his hair, wrapping his arm around Trunks' waist and pointing them in the direction of the stairs.

The inside of Trunks' room was still basically a guest room. All his clothes were folded neatly and put away, with Bulma's little decorative touches still scattered about. The only thing different about it really, was the sword leaning against the wall next to the bed. Gohan let his fingers trail over the hilt of it in admiration, but didn't let it distract him for more than a few seconds. He turned back to Trunks, who had sat down on the edge of the bed and was watching him with those intensely blue orbs. Gohan was definitely going to do something about it this time. He stepped over and kissed him deeply, putting both hands on either side of his face and exploring the inside of his mouth.

Trunks' heart rate sped up considerably as Gohan kissed him so thoroughly. When the kiss finally broke, Trunks saw that mischievous light was back in Gohan's eyes again.

"So, uh, how are we going to do this?" he braved being the first to address it. Gohan smiled and stroked Trunks' cheek, down over his neck, and onto his chest.

"I'll do whatever you want me to Trunks, but in all honesty, I really want to be the one to claim you" he said from inches away. Trunks blushed and found he needed to clear his throat just the littlest bit before his voice would work.

"Do you, uh, know what you're doing?" he asked hesitantly, though his hands were already being much more forward. They trembled with excitement and just a sprinkling of nerves as he carefully undid the buttons on Gohan's dress shirt.

"We have the internet" Gohan replied with a wink, moving his hands to undo Trunks' buttons in return. Trunks' blush deepened considerably.

"But you've never 'been' with anyone?" he asked, knowing Gohan had already implied to him before that he hadn't. He wanted it to be clear though.

"No, I haven't... Have you?" Gohan returned the question, pushing him over slowly now that their shirts were off.

"No, no I haven't" Trunks said, letting his hips be lifted so Gohan could slide the pants he'd just unbuckled off of him.

"Good" Gohan had that growl in his voice again as he leaned over Trunks, capturing his lips. The sound of him pulling his belt out of it's loops in one swift stroke sent a shiver down Trunks' spine, and he reached for Gohan's zipper, trying to help him get naked faster. Running his hands over Gohan's hips as his pants slid down, Trunks decided to go for it, and let himself trace a finger along the curve of his already hardening manhood. It was now Gohan's turn to feel a shiver run through him, as Trunks' hands began to explore his erect form.

Not wanting to leave Trunks out of the exquisiteness of being explored, Gohan pulled himself back from the edge of the fog that Trunks' hands had created in his mind, and reached down to caress his soon to be lover's manhood as well. Grinning wickedly, he bent down and slipped just the head of it into his mouth, lapping at it gently with his tongue. Trunks groaned and automatically reached for Gohan's head, sitting half up and cupping his face, while rubbing a thumb over his cheekbone in encouragement. Gohan smiled, releasing his hold on him momentarily.

"So I take it you like that" he chuckled, and went back to tasting the new flavor presented him. Slowly working more and more of Trunks' shaft into his mouth, Gohan slid his tongue and lips up and down over him, drawing out some of the most delicious sounds he had ever heard from Trunks' vocal chords. Just as he began to notice a slightly saltier flavor to his snack, Gohan's movements were halted by a panting Trunks.

"Stop, Gohan... Stop or I'm going to cum" he said, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently pushing Gohan back while he tried to regain his composure... sort of. Nodding in agreement with his action, Gohan stroked Trunks' cheek in return and began kissing the side of his neck, when suddenly a thought occurred to him.

"You know, this little adventure happening tonight was your idea... How 'prepared' are you for this, exactly?" he asked Trunks in between kisses.

"Uh, what?" Trunks said, his mind still pretty clouded from Gohan's ministrations, "Prepared?... I didn't really assume one or the other of us would be on top, I figured we'd just work it out when the time came... Now that we're 'in the moment' though, I guess I wouldn't mind if you did the claiming" he confessed, his eyes lidded with passion as Gohan continued to tease at his neck.

"That's good to know" Gohan murmured against him, smiling as he finished gently sucking on a small mouthful of Trunks' skin. "It's actually not what I meant though... I was thinking more about lube... I'm sure it would help, with this first time" Gohan asked, tenderly stroking over his torso.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" Trunks teasingly questioned him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure" Gohan paused, grinning wickedly, "I've just been watching a lot of gay porn lately, that's all." Scarlet painted itself over Trunks' cheeks as he gestured toward the nightstand.

"There's some in the drawer" he informed him. His heart leapt into his throat as he watched Gohan open it and pull out the small bottle with a grin. Flipping the cap, he squirted some into his hand and applied it liberally to his fingers, leaving the bottle out. With his free hand he pushed on Trunks' shoulder, laying him back down, while the other slipped between his legs, slowly caressing the tight ring of muscle he found there.

"This is the part where you try to relax" Gohan whispered to him, kissing his neck and throat again while he pressed against his entrance. Trunks breathed deeply and tried his best to take the advice, wrapping his arms around Gohan as a single digit slowly entered him.

"You ok?" Gohan whispered to him, seeing the intense look on Trunks' face.

"Yeah, it's just... different" he responded hesitantly.

"Does it hurt?" Gohan asked him, staring into his eyes, concerned.

"Only a bit, I'm ok" Trunks reassured him, "Don't stop now." Gohan smiled and took his time, stretching Trunks slowly and gently to hopefully make it as pain-free as possible. Once three fingers had Trunks moaning and rocking his hips against them, Gohan couldn't take just watching his lavender haired prince squirm anymore. Helping himself to another large dose of lubricant, he coated his throbbing shaft with it, spreading a little more of it over Trunks as well, just for good measure. Then leaning over him, Gohan lined himself up, and with one last kiss from Trunks, began easing his way inside him.

Trunks watched Gohan enter him, realizing about halfway through just how much longer Gohan's dick was then his fingers. The pain blossomed inside him just enough to make him gasp; but before he knew it, Gohan was fully sheathed within him, and kissing him quite passionately. A hand sneaked down to take a firm grip on Trunks' erection, stroking him slowly but with a steady rhythm. Trunks moaned into the kiss, the pain fading to only a slight discomfort, and then being replaced entirely with pleasure as he couldn't help but rock his hips in time with Gohan's stroking.

Slowly Gohan eased his own hips into the rhythm he had helped Trunks in setting, drawing more elongated moans from both of them as he did. After a few moments of staring into each others' eyes in disbelief of how incredible it was to share this with each other, Gohan grinned and gave him a passionate kiss that ended in a drawn out bite on his lower lip. As he let go of the compliant lip, Gohan gave Trunks' member one last slow stroke before releasing it as well and raising himself up to an angle that gave him a bit more freedom of movement, so to speak. The change seemed to go over well with Trunks as he gasped loudly and grabbed onto Gohan's biceps, his eyes taking on a wild light as Gohan sped up his pace.

"Ahh, yeees, Gohan, god yes, aaah, aahhha, yes!" Trunks shouted as wave after wave of pleasure rippled through him while Gohan's pace steadily increased. Gohan moaned nearly as loudly above him, soaking in the combination of Trunks' tight heat and passionate vocalizations. A frantic light danced in his eyes as he made Trunks' meet his gaze a few minutes later.

"I'm going to cum, it's just too much, you're so tight Trunks" he admitted, not slowing his thrusts. As Trunks processed his words, his eyes begged him louder than any moan ever could, to please, please finish him off. Gohan groaned and reached for Trunks' weeping cock, stroking him hard and fast as he tried desperately to hold off just a few more moments himself. It took only about three of such strokes to make Trunks' shout Gohan's name as his back arched, his thick cum starting to spill out between Gohan's fingers. Trunks' hips spasmed wildly as they couldn't decided if they wanted to thrust up into the hand above them, or down onto the shaft impaling them. Letting himself go completely, Gohan came hard right behind him as he was clenched even tighter in the throes of Trunks' orgasm. He made up Trunks' hips' mind for them, pinning them to the bed with the force of his final thrust as he practically screamed Trunks' name, his shout was so loud.

"Fuck" Gohan said, two seconds after having collapsed on top of him, and still panting, "Anyone with saiyan hearing definitely could have heard that... Sorry." Trunks, not sure if he was capable of speech yet, just stroked Gohan's back and discovered he was able to produce a pleased chuckle. Gohan smiled at that, snuggling against him and running his fingers through Trunks' hair.

"I love you, Gohan" Trunks managed to get out a few seconds later. Gohan lifted his head off Trunks' chest to return the affection sincerely, when he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He froze, unable to remember clearly if he had locked it behind them or not. Unfortunately that was Trunks' response as well.

"Gohan? Trunks? Are you guys ok? What's going on in there?" Goku's voice came from the hallway. Gohan blushed redder than Trunks had ever seen anyone get, his mouth falling open in disbelief at what he had just heard. Trunks' eyes widened, only slightly out of amusement at Gohan's reaction, but they both were cut short of giving any reply by Vegeta's voice in the hall as well.

"Kakarot! What the hell is wrong with you? Get away from there this instant!" he commanded.

"But Vegeta-"

"Do not make me call your wife to come and get you, baka" Vegeta threatened him.

"Alright, alright... Yeesh, what's the big deal? I just wanted to make sure they're ok" Goku's voice began edging away from the door.

"They're perfectly fine, Kakarot, now get downstairs and don't bother them again."

"How do you know that, Vegeta?"

"Because I'm not a third-class moron, that's why!" Vegeta accompanied his answer with what sounded like a smack on the head for Goku.

"Ow, Vegeta, what was that for?..." Goku's voice finally faded away as they descended the stairs. Gohan breathed a sigh of relief, and rested his forehead against Trunks' chest.

"I love you, Trunks" he said, raising his head after a moment, "And you know, I never thought I'd say this, but your dad is pretty cool too."

The End


End file.
